Makerspace options start to narrow down

WASHINGTON — Washington Public Library Director Cary Ann Siegfried said survey responses for a planned Makerspace in the building’s basement revealed some front-runners for installations there, during a discussion with board members Thursday morning.

“The winners were definitely 3D printers and pottery, people are very into the whole, ‘Having a pottery wheel and a kiln,’ kind of thing,” Siegfried said. “That’s definitely what we’re looking at, going forward and exploring that a little bit more.”

The two leading amenities come with minimal hassle: Siegfried said just two 3D printers could meet the community’s needs using minimal space, and that engineers were unconcerned about the heat a kiln would generate.

A combined video and audio recording studio seems to be in the cards as well, thanks to minimal square footage needs. Such a space was labeled in all three tentative room layouts presented to board members.

In general terms, Siegfried said she hoped to designate a “messy zone” with easily cleaned floors and a sink, an adjacent child-oriented area, and another adjacent multipurpose space.

The emphasis on flexibility makes some Makerspace amenities especially attractive, despite middle-of-the-pack popularity shared by most options in the survey.

“One day, you could have a class where you’re teaching sewing, and so you’ve got sewing machines on your tables,” Siegfried said. “Then, the sewing machines could go back in storage, and the next day, you could do a coding class for kids on laptops. And again, those could go back in storage.”

A handful of options were effectively ruled out by community feedback. Siegfried said industrial applications and virtual reality equipment were among the list’s least popular items.

While an industrial kitchen was more widely requested, she said engineering consultants had strongly advised against it.

“All the mechanical things we would have to do to be able to make a kitchen down there in the basement safe for everyone would be very costly and would still involve some risk, so we have kind of ruled the concept of a commercial kitchen out,” Siegfried said. “It’s obviously something that people are interested in, in the community, so that’s something that somebody else could pull off in another location.”

Whatever Makerspace services the library pursues, Siegfried said there would be logistical hurdles to clear. Pottery equipment would require a system for buying clay in the building, a kiln would require a set schedule for use. Video and audio production may require after-hours access for some patrons, and overall coordination for the space would require hands-on work from people.

Siegfried said she hoped volunteers would fill the need for manpower, which might otherwise take time from library staff.

“We shouldn’t move into implementing equipment that we don’t either have staff or dedicated volunteers who want to do it,” she said. “I don’t think there are too many things in here that we can’t find somebody who has the skills … there are a lot of people who have expressed an interest in helping us with all of this.”

The director emphasized that nothing was set in stone yet. Consultants plan to meet with city regulatory officials and pitch more layout concepts before library decision-makers lock in any plans.

After details are ironed out, Siegfried said construction was expected to start in fall of 2023, assuming contractors could meet the library’s schedule. After opening the Makerspace, new services would roll out gradually.

“We don’t just jump off into everything all at once,” she said. “We take our time, learn the equipment that is most important to people and then implement that, then come back.”

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